Teacher’s Pet journalist denies lawyer’s claim he shredded vital material

The journalist who produced the internationally successful Teacher’s Pet podcast has ­defended himself against claims made in court yesterday by the lawyer for accused murderer Chris Dawson that he may have shredded significant documents.

Chris Dawson (centre) arriving at the Downing Centre court in Sydney today. Picture: AAP

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The journalist who produced the internationally successful Teacher’s Pet podcast has ­defended himself against claims made in court yesterday by the lawyer for Chris Dawson that he may have shredded significant documents.

Crown prosecutor Craig Everson told Downing Centre Local Court that they would be seeking to cross-examine The Australian’s Hedley Thomas before Dawson, 70, who was charged last year with his wife’s murder, goes to trial. Lynette Dawson vanished in January 1982 from the couple’s northern beaches home.

Mr Thomas will be quizzed on an answer he gave to a question at a special The Australian subscribers’ meeting in Brisbane in November 2017.

Chris and Lynnette Dawson at their wedding. Lynnette went missing in 1982. She was 34.

Dawson’s lawyer Greg Walsh told the court Mr Thomas was asked about whether legal aspects of the award-winning podcast might “kill” the result of any charges which had not then been laid against Dawson.

Mr Thomas had replied that chapter five in episode seven “needs to be shredded and will go to jail if it airs”.

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Mr Walsh told the court the defence had not obtained all the material Mr Thomas used to prepare his podcast ­because “there is evidence that Hedley Thomas has shredded some of his material”.

Mr Thomas released a statement accusing Mr Walsh of “distorting the truth”.

The reference to shredded related to legal advice to remove ­aspects of the chapter, he said.

“I was like ‘oh why?’. And they said ‘well you’ll go to jail if it stays’,” Mr Thomas recalled yesterday.

He added: “The statements made by Mr Walsh today ­egregiously misrepresent those comments.”

The Australian has handed over about 100GB of audio and hundreds of pages of material to prosecutors.

'The Teacher's Pet' podcast series by Hedley Thomas of The Australian is about the disappearance of Lyn Dawson in 1982.

Hedley Thomas, journalist for The Australian newspaper, will be called to give evidence before the court.

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Outside court, Mr Walsh said he did not know what had been shredded or whether Mr Thomas was referring to himself or a witness he had interviewed when he referred to someone going to jail if the material was disclosed.

“That’s why there will be an application that he will give evidence at the committal proceeding,” Mr Walsh said. “We have to get to the bottom of this.”

Former rugby league star and sports teacher Dawson, who is on $1.5 million bail, had travelled from his home in Coolum Queensland where he lives with his third wife for today’s proceedings.

Lyn, 33, a former nurse, allegedly went missing in January 1982 and Dawson has been charged with murdering her between 9pm on January 8 and 7am on January 9.

He has maintained she walked out on him and their two daughters after he dropped her off at a bus stop in Mona Vale at 7am.

Two days later he moved his 16-year-old lover, who he had taught at Cromer High School, into the family home at Bayview.

They married in 1984 and have since divorced with Dawson marrying again.

The case was adjourned to June 20 but it is believed Mr Thomas will be called to give evidence at a later date.